Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Treasury – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 13 May 1999.
Does my right hon. Friend agree that, had the Government accepted them, the total cost of the Opposition proposals made in the Committee considering the Finance Bill in the past two weeks—the abolition of the fuel escalator; the abolition of any increase in duty on tobacco; the lowering of vehicle excise duty for 1400 cc cars; and the retention of the married couples allowance for all new pensioners, so that we will all have to get married when we are 65—would have been billions? Ultimately, that money would have to be paid by the wealth creators and businesses of this country. Their commitment to £40 billion for health and education combined with low tax for business is a complete sham—crocodile tears from a discredited Opposition.